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January 21, 2013

This organizational project is WAY, WAY overdue. I have been knitting for almost seven years now, and have accumulated a lot of yarn. Maybe not a lot compared to a knitting store, but a lot for living in a 900 square-foot apartment.

When J and I got married, we got rid of a few things, but mostly gained a lot of things. Our wedding presents included all of the normals (china, kitchen appliances, bedding, etc), but it also included most of the furniture we now own. They are hand-me-downs, but boy do we love them (well mostly the fact that we didn't have to pay for them).

Our tiny space was filled, but there was limited space for other things, like a craft room. Thus what follows...

Somewhat close-up of the "knitting station" I created for myself once I started my Etsy shop this past fall.

What it looks like when you are looking from the kitchen into the living area. Notice the lovely burnt orange couch, a gift from J's great aunt and uncle.

So, after months of being annoyed by not being able to reach my yarn unless I stand on the arm of the couch, I have decided to make my "knitting station" more functional by moving it into our second bedroom, or home office (the title "home office" cracks me up because we don't even use this room, except to store things we don't always use).

This is only the beginning of the office overhaul. My first task was to organize all of my yarn, much of which was tangled beyond belief because of a certain furry friend (Dexter). He enjoys getting into yarn when I leave it on the floor or coffee table.

Once I untangled everything and got rid of the unusable scraps, I divided yarn and supplies into these categories:

1. Full skeins of yarn

2. Partly used skeins

3. Scraps (can be used to tie tags to finished projects or for washcloths, etc.)

4. Knitting Supplies

5. Shipping

6. Finished Projects

Now that I have everything organized, my next step is to organize the "office" to make it more knitting friendly. Stay tuned!

January 20, 2013

Have you ever let a whole package of bacon go bad? Hard to believe, I know, but I have. I think it has to do with having too much food in the refrigerator, bad meal planning skills, or maybe it's just me.

(Almost Bad Bacon)

Here's a tip. Next time you have too much bacon on your hands, cook it all! it doesn't take a long time, and you can do "many" things with it.

(Sizzle, Sizzle) - I love that noise! - But not the grease popping on me!

1. Put pre-cooked slices in plastic bags and heat up in the microwave for sandwiches or breakfast on-the-go

2. Crumble up and add to your favorite salad, soup and so on. Store in a airtight container in the refrigerator

3. Pour bacon grease into a bowl until it cools, then put in airtight container and freeze for future use on your favorite gumbo recipe!

Ok, so maybe three doesn't = "many", thus why I put quotations around the word. This is where you come in. What are your favorite things to do with bacon? any other uses besides the ones I came up with?

Hello there! Here we are. New Year, new blog. Two young people still newly (ish) married, launching into the world of dental school in August. But where will we go? If only we knew...

Here begins the story of J and A.

^ This is A (with straight hair). She is a nurse in the operating room. She loves her job, though it comes with some drawbacks, namely being on call a lot. But it's worth it for now. She also loves to knit and has a store on Etsy.com. Enough about that for now.

^ This is J. He is married to A. J just found out he got into dental school at a school in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (far from home). He also has a few interviews this month!! Hooray. It's been a long road to get in, but he finally knows He is going to school somewhere in the fall.

O yea, that dog in the picture...that is Dexter. He is crazy to say the least. He was rescued from the Humane Society in November 2011. He is a lab/hound mix, and has more energy than J and A put together. It is very interesting keeping him entertained in an apartment, but for now he is content being an only dog-child.

This is the end of the introductions. Never fear, there is more to come shortly in this story. Soon we will chronicle the next two dental school interviews.